Weave a Tale: The Adventures of Odysseus

Calypso was a goddess who lived in a cave on the island of Ogygia. The isle was made fertile by four crystal clear streams. The woods were lush with alder, black poplar, and cypress trees on whose branches roosted owls, falcons, and sea crows. A beautiful grape vine laden with clusters of ripe fruit decorated the gaping mouth of Calypso’s cave. The meadow adjoining it was filled with parsley and iris flowers.

Odysseus, after escaping from the jaws of death, swam the turbulent seas for nine days, and finally stumbled ashore in Ogygia. When the kind goddess Calypso saw him, she took him to her cave and attended on him. She gave him a luxurious hot bath, and swathed him in warm clothes. After that she treated him to a delicious spread of food, and heady drink. Then she offered him a warm and soft bed to spend the night.

Calypso fell deeply in love with the gallant Greek. “O Odysseus, stay here with me forever and I shall render you immortal, make you a divine being like me,” she begged of him. And she forced him to stay with her for seven long years. Truly, Odysseus was not happy to be with her. ‘When will the gods let me return to my home in Ithaca?’ he lamented every day, sitting alone on the seashore and staring into the horizon in the direction of his kingdom.

At last the gods seemed to have heard his prayers. For, Zeus deputed his messenger Hermes to Calypso asking her to release him. But he was careful to choose a time when Poseidon was away visiting his friends. Zeus knew that Poseidon had not yet forgiven Odysseus for killing his son Polyphemus.

When Hermes arrived at her threshold, Calypso welcomed him warmly in a manner befitting a divine being. But she wasn’t prepared for the message he had brought from Zeus. “Hermes, you gods are a jealous lot, aren’t you? You can’t stand a goddess falling in love with a mortal, who in all ways matches a god. You’ve done this to other goddesses before. No wonder you’re doing it to me, too,” she fretted and fumed. She had no option but to obey Zeus.

She went to the beach and broke the news to Odysseus. He was not convinced that Calypso was speaking the truth. “Calypso, is this some kind of a trap you’re laying for me?” he looked at her doubtfully.

Calypso swore by the gods, and Odysseus believed her. “Come with me to the woods. Select a stout, strong, and buoyant tree for a raft,” she told him. She lent him an axe, adze, augers, and all other necessary gear. When the raft was built, she loaded it with sacks of corn, skins of wine, and water, and dried meat. As she waved goodbye, her cheeks were wet with tears.

But Odysseus was not yet destined to reach the warm hearths of his home. Just as he had begun to sail in full speed, Poseidon saw the raft. He was flying across the sky in his winged chariot on his way home. “That looks like Odysseus. How sneaky of Zeus to see him home, when I’m not around. I shall not let Odysseus reach home easily!” and he stirred up the ocean. A mighty storm brew and waves rose high, as if to touch the heavens.

A huge wave upset the raft and swept Odysseus overboard. The rich robes he wore dragged him down to the depths of the sea. Yet, he was a strong swimmer and managed to swim up and scramble back on to his raft. “Alas, how long should I suffer like this? Why can’t I ever enjoy a single day in peace? I’ve been spending more than a decade sailing from one danger to another. Don’t the gods feel any pity for me? Am I such a sinned man that I must be constantly punished?” Odysseus the chivalrous, who had braved all kinds of danger with a smile, broke down now.

That was when Leucothoa, a marine goddess, rushed to his help. She took pity on him and alighted on his raft in the guise of a sea mew. She gave him a veil to wrap around his shoulders. “Get into the waters wearing this. It’ll help you reach the land safely,” she looked kindly at him. Too many perils had made Odysseus too wary to accept her kindly help without hesitation. Then, deciding to try it out come what may, Odysseus took the veil from Leucothoa and dived into the sea. Meanwhile, Poseidon’s wrath had subsided and he had returned to his underwater palace.

Goddess Athene came out and sent a breeze to smoothen the waves and calm the sea. Odysseus swam the waters for two days and two nights and reached land at the break of the third day. It was the shores of an island called Scheria. The inhabitants were called Pheaecians. They were a carefree lot and spent their days feasting, dancing, and singing. They cared for nothing fierce, severe, or wild.

(To be continued)

Painting: Calypso calling heaven and earth to witness her sincere affection to Ulysses by Angelica Kauffman (1741-1807)

Weave a Tale

The Adventures of Odysseus - 9

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